Learn about the resurgence of the classical scientific theory of Atomism — destroying long held scientific claims about matter, atoms, energy, light, space and time.

A Brief Introduction To Atomism

What is Atomism?

Atomism is the theory in natural philosophy developed by the early Greek natural philosophers Leucippus (fl.c.450B.C.), Democritus (c.460-370 B.C.), and Epicurus (341-270 B.C.), and the Roman, Lucretius (c.98-55 B.C.), and which maintains that the ultimate, unchangeable reality and causality consist of atoms and kenon. Atoms are the smallest particles of matter that can exist; the ultimate and smallest division of matter. Kenon is the pure empty space, or absolute void, that separates the atoms and through which they move.

The Atomists believe that nothing exists but atoms and kenon, and that the universe is made up of an infinite number of atoms whose ever-shifting arrangement in its kenon is the ultimate reality behind all appearances. Leucippus, who is recognized as the founder of Greek Atomism, had the thought that if matter was repeatedly cut up, the end result would be uncuttable pieces of matter. His student, Democritus, called these uncuttable pieces of matter "atoms," meaning uncuttables.

Leucippus held that there are only two fundamental principles of the physical universe: empty kenon and filled kenon. He taught that filled kenon consists of atoms, which in contrast to those of modern physics, are real atoms: i.e., they are absolutely unsplittable because nothing can penetrate them to split them.

Epicurus explained that since it is impossible for atoms to come into existence out of nothing or pass away into nothing, they are eternal and indestructible. Being the ultimate constituents of the universe, they give permanence to the existence of the universe. Lucretius explained that if it were not for the indestructible quality of the atoms, the universe would have dissolved into nothing long ago.